Two LeT militants get 7 yrs RI for possessing RDX

Two Lashker-e-Taiba militants were on Tuesday sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment each by a Delhi court for possessing RDX in connection with a conspiracy to carry out a suicide attack at the Indian Military Academy in 2005.

Convicts Hamid Hussain and Mohd Shariq, who were apprehended with about 10 kg of RDX, were also slapped a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 1.30 lakh respectively.

"The possession of RDX meant for military purpose and not for common use coupled with the fact the accused identified the hideout of slain militants at Uttam Nagar are irrefutable to infer that the accused were in conspiracy with others and procured them to facilitate commission of a terrorist act," Additional Sessions Judge Dharmesh Sharma said.

The court had on January 8 convicted the two militants of offences relating to possession of explosives and for being members of a banned terrorist organisation.

The arguments of the defence counsel M S Khan seeking lenient view of the court on the convicts as they are young men and have elderly parents to look after were opposed by the prosecutor who demanded stringent action.

After the arrest of Hamid and Shariq from north Delhi, an encounter took place at Uttam Nagar in West Delhi on March five, 2005 in which two Pakistanis Bilawal and Shahnawaz and their Indian associate Shams were killed by the Delhi Police Special Cell.

In its judgement, the court had on January 8 acquitted four alleged accomplices of the convicts for want of evidence.